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Columbia  <Bntoet#itp 

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College  of  ipjjpstctans;  ano  i-smrgeontf 
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fl     ©LAIN     CXPOSITION 


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FOR     THE 


EVER  OFFERED  TO  THE  PUBLIC, 


PROSPECTUS 


OF 


No.    41     UNION    SQUARE,    NEW    YORK. 

EVERYTHING    PERTAINING    TO    HOUSE    SANITATION. 

*- 

Printed  by  P.  F.  McBreen,  16  Beekman  St.,  New  York. 
1883. 


OFFICERS. 

Dr.  Wm.  F.  Duncan,         -         -         -         -         -  President 

Hon.  Chas.  G.  Cornell,       -  -         -  Vice-President 

B.  F.  I  no  rah  am,  Esq.,       -  -  Secretary  and  Treasurer 

Prof.  E.  H.  Janes,  M.D.  (N.Y.  Health  Dep't),  Consulting  Hygienist 
Prof.  H.  A.  Mott,  Ph.  D.,  Chemist,  and  Expert  on  Ventilation 
Col.  Geo.  D:  Scott,  Sanitary  Engineer  [Plumbing  Dept.) 

TRUSTEES. 

Dr.  Wm.  F.  Duncan,  Barrett  House. 

Hon.  Chas.  G.  Cornell,  18  East  58th  Street. 

Col.  Geo.  D.  Scott,  151  Ninth  Avenue. 

Frank  R.  Walton,  Broker,  202  Broadway. 

B.  F.  Ingraham,  Prest.  Standard  Water  Meter  Co. 

II.  A.  Mott,  Ph.  D.,  Prof.  Chemistry. 

Edward  F.  O'Dwyer,  Esq.,  Counsel. 


TO   Tr^  ?mif- 


In  coming  before  the  public  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in 
the  maintenance  of  healthful  houses,  we  believe  we  meet  an 
existing  want. 

We  offer  no  new  thing  with  which  to  appeal  to  the  imagina- 
tion, but  simply  a  novel  application  of  old  and  trusted  remedies, 
and  endeavor  to  solve  the  question  of  avoiding  the  danger  from 
sewer  air,  by  establishing  the  detection  of  imperfections  in  plumb- 
ing, cleanliness  and  fumigation  as  the  foundation  of  our 
system.  There  is  no  longer  any  dispute  as  to  what 
constitutes  perfect  plumbing,  but  the  point  we  wish  to  make  is, 
that  after  you  have  secured  it  you  can  not  be  sure  that  it  will  re- 
main in  good  condition  ;  erosion  destroys  the  pipes,  rats  make 
holes  in  them,  the  house  settles  and  breaks  them,  they  become 
stopped  with  filth  and  dirt,  and  they  will  wear  out. 

Your  attention  is  perhaps  happily  early  called  to  some  defect 
by  a  bad  odor,  but  if,  as  at  times  will  occur,  the  gas  be  odorless 
it  escapes  notice  until  prolonged  sickness  indicates  its  presence. 
We  believe  it  would  be  wiser  and  more  economical  to  have  your 
house  visited  periodically  by  an  expert,  who  would  detect  the  im- 
perfection in  time  to  prevent  the  dangerous  exposure.  We  do 
not  wish  to  be  considered  alarmists  ;  enough  real  dangers  exist 
without  creating  imaginary  ones,  and  appeal  only  to  common 
sense  to  recommend  our  undertaking.     Our  business   is  to  make 


inspections  of  plumbing,  and  to  point  out  its  defects  ;  to  cleanse 
pipes  and  keep  them  open  ;  to  fumigate  them,  when  necessary, 
with  burning  sulphur,  as  infected  ships  are  fumigated  at  quaran- 
tine ;  to  suggest  remedies  for  bad  ventilation,  and  to  disinfect 
and  fumigate  rooms  and  clothing  which  have  been  exposed  to 
contagion  or  infection  ;  in  a  word,  to  do  everything  practically 
possible  to  secure  our  patrons  against  the  dangers  of  living  in 
unsanitary  houses. 

PROTECT    YOUR    HOMES    FROM    SEWER-GAS. 

The  action  of  the  Board  of  Health  in  adopting  constantly 
increasing  stringent  measures  as  to  how  plumbing  must  be  done 
shows  that  they  are  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  danger  from 
sewer-gas  when  inhaled. 

Heretofore  all  the  special  inventions  to  remove  the  danger- 
ous germs  of  disease  from  the  sewer-gas  have  been  a  failure. 
They  simply  deodorize  it  without  depriving  it  of  any  of  its  dan- 
gerous properties.     Our  aim  is  to  prevent  its  formation. 

Before  attempting  to  describe  the  methods  of  the  Manhattan 
Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company,  let  us  inquire 

WHAT    IS    SEWER-GAS? 

It  consists  of  air  and  vapor  ;  and  usually  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  the  products  of  decomposition  are  suspended  in  it  to  give  it  an 
unpleasant  or  musty  odor. 

It  may  or  may  not  contain  sufficient  quantity  of  these  pro- 
dui  ts  to  give  it  a  bad   smell  ;   but   in  either  case    the    bacteria,  Or 


germs  of  disease  may  be  suspended  in  it.  Sewer-gas  which  is 
perfectly  odorless  contains  animal  and  vegetable  germs  of  disease 
which  are  poisonous  when  inhaled. 

A  dirty  sewer  or  soil-pipe,  inaccessible  to  light  and  air,  which 
is  moist  and  moderately  warm,  is  the  favorable  place  to  propagate 
bacteria,  which,  when  planted  in  the  system,  cause  pneumonias, 
which  are  rapidly  fatal,  or  diphtheria,  which  is  no  less  dangerous, 
or  the  family  have  continuous  malaria.  The  children  are  cross, 
the  wife  is  fretful,  the  husband  is  "blue,"  and  no  one  suspects 
the  cause  of  the  trouble. 

The  Manhattan  Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company  claims  to  have  a 
perfect  system  of  cleaning  and  purifying  the  house  plumbing. 

DISEASES    WHICH    COME     INTO     OUR    HOMES  THROUGH 

THE    SEWERS. 

In  the  following  remarks  we  will  not  quote  any  authorities, 
because  we  wish  to  avoid  tiresome  details,  and  also  because  we  do 
not  make  a  single  statement  which  is  not  endorsed  by  every 
physician. 

A  form  of  fever  with  symptoms  like  those  of  malarial fever ; 
comes  to  us  frequently  through  the  sewers.  A  system  constantly 
filled  with  malarious  poison  is  liable  to  develope  acute  or  chronic 
organic  disease  of  any  organ  in  the  body. 

In  the  lungs  chronic  bronchitis  is  established,  which  later 
develops  into  inflammatory  pJithisis — one  form  of   consumption. 

Diseases  of  the  liver,  spleen  and  intestines  arc  more  fre- 
quently caused  by  long-continued  malarial  poison. 


Diphtheria,  one  of  the  most  destructive  diseases  which  afflict 
the  human  race,  is  freely  propagated  in  an  atmosphere  charged 
with  sewer-air. " 

Scarlatina,  small-pox,  and  all  other  contagious  diseases,  the 
poisons  of  which  may  be  conveyed  from  place  to  place,  doubtless 
come  to  us  through  our  sewers  from  distant  houses  which  are 
infected. 

The  Manhattan  Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company  thoroughly  appre- 
ciate these  evils,  and  in  connection  with  the  improved  style  of 
plumbing  which  the  Board  of  Health  now  require  builders  to  use, 
they  can  with  certainty  obviate  them. 

Their  means  of  caring  for  plumbing  lessens  greatly  these 
dangers. 

If  allowed  to  put  the  plumbing  in  such  order  as  they  know 
it  should  be,  they  can  guarantee  in  each  and  every  case  perfect 
freedom  from  the  dangers  of  sewer-gas.  They  have  the  only 
system  by  which  the"  above  results  can  be  obtained. 

DETECTION  OF  SEWER-GAS. 

The  only  way  at  present  in  which  the  attention  of  the  family 
is  earnestly  directed  to  the  faulty  condition  of  the  plumbing,  is 
the  presence  of  an  odor  so  disagreeable  that  it  attracts  the  notice 
of  every  one  entering  the  house.  This  is  frequently  not  a  suffi- 
cient warning  to  cause  prompt  action  in  removing  the  defect.  It 
is  not  usually  attended  to  until  the  entire  family  are  taken  sick,  or 
there  is  such  a  frequent  succession  of  illnesses  in  it  that  the  most 
obtuse  mind  cannot  help  noticing  that    there    must   be  something 


wrong  about  the  dwelling.  More  frequently,  one  or  two  deaths  in 
addition  to  the  above  warnings  are  necessary  to  really  move  the 
parties  concerned  to  definite  action.  To  illustrate  more  practi- 
cally, we  will  relate  one  case  : 

A  house  in  this  city  which  came  under  our  observation  had 
for  two  years  an  unpleasant  odor  about  it  ;  two  of  the  occupants 
died  from  malarial  poison,  three  others  became  prostrated,  one 
with  diphtheria  and  two  with  malaria.  After  having  called  the 
attention  of  the  family  for  two  years  to  the  bad  condition  of  the 
plumbing,  it  was  not  till  the  above  additional  proofs  of  the  pres- 
ence of  sewer-gas  in  the  house  became  manifest  that  we  succeeded 
in  obtaining  their  concurrence  in  having  something  done. 

An  inspection  of  the  premises  was  made.  Oil  of  pepper- 
mint and  warm  water  were  poured  into  the  ventilating  pipe  on  the 
roof,  and  a  man  was  stationed  below  to  notice  the  odor  if  it  should 
escape  from  any  part  of  the  plumbing.  He  was  convinced  that 
it  did  not  escape,  and  the  house  was  reported  "  all  right." 

We  simply  mention  the  above  facts  to  show  that  the  pepper- 
mint test  which  is  so  commonly  used  is  not  always  reliable,  and  do 
not  desire  to  censure  in  any  way  the  intelligent  efforts  to  discover 
the  trouble. 

We  believe  that  this  test  will  occasionally  fail  to  detect  leaks, 
if  conducted  as  it  usually  is. 

The  man  pouring  the  peppermint  in  on  the  roof  should  close 
the  scuttle  and  soil-pipe  and  leave  the  premises  through  the  ad- 
joining house,  trusting  the  results  of  the  experiment  to  the  party 
left  in  the  house  that  is  being  tested.     If  in  two  hours,  the  smell 


8 

of  peppermint  is  not  to  be  discovered  in  any  part  of  the  house, 
the  plumbing  is  in  fair  order  as  far  as  the  ingress  of  sewer-gas  is 
concerned. 

The  unpleasant  smell  and  the  malaria  continued.  At  last 
some  planks  were  removed  from  the  basement  floor.  The  soil- 
pipe  or  water-pipe  entering  it  was  made  of  lead.  There  were  two 
rat-holes  in  it.  The  main  trap  was  found  completely  obstructed. 
The  sewer  at  one  point  in  the  street  was  higher  than  the  end  in 
the  house. 

This   is   the  condition   that  many  of  our  city  houses  are  in. 

The   Manhattan  Anti   Sewer-Gas  Company,  by  their  special 
appliances,  and  by  their  periodic  inspection  of  houses  under  their 
charge,  discover  these  defects  early,  and  remove  them  or  apprise 
their  patrons  of  their  danger  before  it  is  announced  in  the  usual' 
way  by  sickness  and  death. 


PERFECT  PLUMBING. 

Every  person  who  lives  in  a  house  where  there   is  plumbing 
should  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  principles  of  plumbing. 

It  is  the  deplorable  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  public  which 
ents  our  present  competent  Board  of  Health  from  enforcing 
such  measures  as  their  honest  convictions  have  forced  upon  them 
as  being  the  least  that  should  be  done  to  protect  the  inhabitants 
of  every  house  from  the  ravages  of  disefc.se  communicated  through 
the  sewers. 


The  pipe  from  the  sewer  to  the  house  should  be  iron.  The 
joints  should  be  carefully  leaded. 

The  pitch  of  the  pipe  from  the  sewer  to  where  it  joins  the 
vertical  soil-pipe  should  be  regulated  by  law. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  sewer  into  the  house  there  should 
be  a  good  iron  trap,  so  accessible  that  it  may  be  readily  cleaned 
when  obstructed.  Just  inside  of  this  main  trap  there  should  be  a 
good-sized  iron  pipe,  which  admits  the  air  to  all  that  portion  of 
the  plumbing  which  is  within  the  house. 

Every  basin,  bath-tub  and  water-closet  should  have  a  sepa- 
rate trap,  and  the  trap  should  have  a  vent-pipe  connecting  the 
discharging  end  of  the  trap  with  the  main  ventilating  pipe  at  a  point 
higher  than  the  trap,  otherwise  the  suction  caused  by  the  discharging 
water  will  cause  all  the  water  in  the  trap  to  follow  it,  thus  leaving 
the  trap  empty  and  making  it  useless. 

The  water  supply  must  be  constant  ;  if  nq,t,  all  our  efforts 
to  ventilate  the  plumbing  from  above  and  below,  by  admitting  air 
at  the  main  trap  and  through  the  soil-pipe  from  the  roof,  as  well 
as  our  attempts  to  prevent  what  contagion  may  be  in  the  soil-pipe 
from  entering  the  house  by  traps  that  will  not  syphon,  will  be  of 
no  service. 

Our  present  scanty  water-supply  makes  all  attempts  to  pre- 
vent the  flow  of  sewer-gas  into  our  houses  a  failure  unless  we 
place  a  tank  of  sufficient  capacity  to  last  the  entire  day  in  the 
house,  above  all  openings  into  the  soil-pipe. 

If  this  is  not  done  the  traps  on  the  upper  floors  are  entirely 
without  water,  and  consequently  become  unprotected  openings 
into  the  soil-pipe. 


IO 


These  tanks  usually  fill  during  the  night.  In  some  locations 
they  will  not  fill ;  then  a  force  pump  to  fill  the  tank  is  a  necessity, 
without  which  you  have  no  protection  from  contagion  through 
the  soil-pipe. 

A  DANGER  ALWAYS  PRESENT. 

Having  perfect  plumbing  is  no  security  that  it  will  always 
remain  so.  At  every  point  where  the  flow  of  water  is  slackened,  as 
by  a  turn  in  the  course  of  a  pipe  or  passing  through  a  trap,  the 
incrustation  which  is  common  to  the  entire  lining  of  the  soil-pipe 
is  greatly  increased  at  these  points. 

Fungous  growths  begin  to  develop  here,  and  the  traps  become 
a  perfect  hot-bed  for  the  development  of  bacteria,  which  are  so 
fatal  to  the  human  race  when  once  planted  in  the  system.  To 
illustrate  the  aboye,  let  us  quote  Prof.  J.  G.  Richardson,  of  Phila- 
delphia : 

"  On  moving  into  a  new  residence  I  had  all  the  stationary 
wash-stands  filled  with  ball  traps  of  the  most  approved  construc- 
tion. Noticing,  however,  after  a  few  months,  that  the  flow  of 
waste  water  through  one  of  them  seemed  to  be  impeded,  I  un- 
screwed the  glass  cup  which  forms  the  lower  segment  of  the  trap 
for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  obstruction,  and  was  surprised 
to  find  what  appeared  to  be  a  fragment  of  thick,  black  blotting- 
paper  hanging  from  the  vertical  pipe.  On  further  investigation  I 
discovered  that  this  was  a  part  of  a  continuous  lining  to  the  up- 
right tube  of  the  trap,  which  had  extended  a  little  above  the 
ordinary  water  level  on  the  inner  or  house  side;  and    in   order  to 


1 1 


determine  its  nature  I  detached  a  portion  for  microscopical  ex- 
amination. At  first  I  did  not  appreciate  the  tremendous  im- 
portance of  my  obervation,  but  on  finding,  under  a  power  of 
1,250  diameters,  that  the  film  was  a  felted  mass  of  mycelium,  bac- 
teria and  micrococcus,  I  realized  at  once  that  the  existence  of 
such  a  lining  of  vegetable  growth,  completely  through  the  trap 
from  its  outer  to  its  inner  limit,  accounted  for  the  penetration  of 
disease-germs  through  the  best  of  these  contrivances,  and  ex- 
plained that  frequent  and  deadly  entrance  of  sewer  infection 
through  apparently  tight  traps,  which  has  been  the  despair  of 
plumbers,  sanitary  engineers'and  hygienists.  Manifestly,  if  the 
bacteria  of  putrefactive  decomposition  which  make  up  this  filthy 
coating  *  *  *  could  thus  intrude  to  the  house  side  of  the 
trap  across  the  microscopic  inequalities  of  the  surface  to  which 
the  ball  'fitted  air-tight,'  the  micrococcus  of  diphtheria  could 
likewise  penertrate  by  the  same  occult  but  infallible  pathway, 
and  only  chance  had  saved  me  and  my  family  from  similar  access 
of  typhoid  fever  or  other  pestilential  germs." 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that  we  are  threatened  with  another 
danger,  quite  distinct  from  the  poison  of  sewer-gas.  We  may 
have  our  closets  and  drain-pipes  trapped  and  sealed  so  as  to  effect- 
ually prevent  the  passage  of  sewer-gas,  as  this  company  propose 
to  do  ;  but  we  are  still  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  disease- 
germs  which  are  cultivated  and  thrown  off  by  the  fungous  growth 
which  lines  the  interior  of  our  waste  pipes.  There  is  but  one 
way  of  meeting  this  evil — to  destroy  the  life  of  the  fungous  growth. 
This  The  Manhattan  Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company  propose  to 
do,  as  we  shall  show  further  on. 


I  2 


FAULTY  PLUMBING. 


The  sewer  from  the  street  to  the  house  is  of  earthenware  ;  it 
has  no  pitch,  or  is  pitched  the  wrong  way.  If  the  house  settles, 
or  if  any  of  the  ground  which  supports  the  sewer  settles,  the 
sewer-pipe  cracks  and  one  end  becomes  lower  than  the  other. 
At  this  point,  sooner  or  later,  there  will  be  a  complete  obstruc- 
tion of  the  sewer. 

In  a  house  in  Fifty-seventh  street  different  members  of  the 
family  had  in  succession  the  same  disease.  It  was  insisted  that 
something  must  be  wrong  with  the  plumbing.  Several  plumbers 
inspected  it,  but  were  unable  to  find  any  imperfection.  The  ill- 
ness continued.  The  owner  of  the  house  thought  he  would 
investigate  for  himself  ;  he  started  to  excavate  in  the  cellar,  at 
the  point  where  the  sewer  left  the  house. 

The  first  time  a  pick  was  made  to  perforate  the  cement  floor, 
the  sewer  refuse  began  to  flow  through  the  opening.  The  entire 
house  was  undermined  with  sewer  products.  The  house  had 
settled,  broken  the  sewer-pipe,  and  complete  obstruction  was 
found  at  this  point.  The  defect  was  remedied,  and  the  sickness 
promptly  disappeared. 

Another  defect  is  the  main  trap,  which,  being  usually  inac- 
cessible, cannot  be  cleaned. 

A  (  ommon  defect  is  that  the  house  plumbing  is  not  ventilated 
from  the  bottom  by  a  vent-pipe,  and  quite  frequently  is  not  ven- 
tilated from  the  roof. 


The  common  form  of  trap  is  the  S  trap,  which,  if  not  provided 
with  an  air-vent,  the  column  of  water  discharging  below  the  trap 
will  always  cause  the  water  in  the  trap  to  follow  it  by  its  suction, 
thus  always  leaving  the  trap  empty  and  useless. 

Occasionally  everything  is  properly  trapped  but  the  bath-tub 
or  some  other  opening  which  is  in  direct  connection  with  the 
soil-pipe,  thus  allowing  a  constant  stream  of  sewer-gas  to  enter 
the  house. 

If  our  readers  will  carefully  scrutinize  their  plumbing  they  will 
find  plain  defects,  which  unnecessarily  expose  to  danger  the  lives  of 
those  living  in  their  houses.  It  is  the  purpose  of  The  Manhattan 
Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company  to  lind  out  these  defects,  remedy  them, 
and  prevent  their  return. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  OUR  SYSTEM. 

i.  Every  house  under  our  care  is  periodically  inspected  by  a 
corps  of  trained  scientific  experts,  who  examine  the  plumbing,  and 
by  means  of  flexible  brushes  and  alkali  thoroughly  clean  its  whole 
interior.  By  plugging  the  pipe  below  the  trap,  we  are  enabled  to 
fill  the  trap  with  a  disinfectant,  and  to  allow  it  to  stand  for  suffi- 
cient length  of  time  to  kill  all  vegetable  or  animal  germs  of 
disease. 

2.  The  entire  soil-pipe  and  plumbing  are  thoroughly  disinfect- 
ed by  fumes  of  burning  sulphur  driven  by  compressed  air  into  the 
soil  pipe  from  below,  thus  killing  all  germs  of  contagion  which 
are  being  propagated  in  the  plumbing  between  the  main  trap  and 


the  local  traps.     The  same  principle  is  in   use  at   Quarantine  for 
destroying  contagion  in  ships. 

3.  Fumigation  of  sick  rooms. 

4.  Special  attention  is  given  to  correct  imperfect  ventilation. 

5.  We  seal  hermetically  every  opening  which  connects  the 
house  with  the  sewer. 

6.  We  have  a  perfect  water-closet  seal.  Although  left  through 
the  summer,  the  water  cannot  evaporate  and  allow  the  house  to 
become  saturated  with  sewer-gas,  as  it  is  automatically  replaced. 

7.  Everything  pertaining  to  house  sanitation. 

Full  information  will  be  gladly  given  to  all  who  seek  it,  the 
Company  feeling  sure  that  a  general  understanding  of  their  sys- 
tem by  the  public  will  lead  to  its  universal  adoption. 

The  Manhattan  Anti  Sewer  Gas  Company  earnestly 
request  all  readers  of  this  pamphlet  to  call  the  attention  of  their 
family  physician  to  it,  feeling  sure  that  their  system  of  prevention 
of,  and  protection  against,  disease  will  commend  itself  to  the 
cordial  co-operation  of  every  intelligent  practitioner. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  impress  upon  our  readers  that  no 
house  is  at  present  safe  from  the  dangers  we  have  enumerated. 
The  remedy  offered  by  this  Company  is  a  sure  and  practicable 
one;  and  in  order  to  bring  it  within  the  reach  of  all,  the  cost  of 
applying  it  has  been  placed  at  the  lowest    possible   figure  consist- 


i5 

ent  with  the  faithful  performance  of  our  promise.  We  guarantee 
nothing  that  we  are  unable  to  perform,  and  we  invite  the  public 
to  call  at  our  office  and  examine  our  system.  Full  information 
will  be  given  to  all  who  will  favor  us  with  a  visit. 


THE  MANHATTAN  ANTI  SEWER  GAS  COMPANY, 

No.    41    Union    Square, 

NEW     YORK. 
Nov.,  1883. 


E    INVITE    the    attention    of    architects    and 
projectors    of     new    buildings     to    our    plans 
for  plumbing,  which  simplify  the  process  of  cleaning. 


"-*  is: 


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This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  arrange- 
ment with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

fq  -»-y 

'•••' 

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r  L  0  1995 

)cr  Im  ~+\ 

- 

no.T  1  { 

'tm 

C2B(l14l)M100 

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M31 
RA585 

4-n  c.Pwer  p-as  company. 
Manhattan  ^ ^  «f  the  only 
A  plain  exposition  01 
_L^i  ««A  sure  system  _- 


